AK Natives on the Front Line: Hunting & Whaling Practices

This episode features brothers Jack and Brower Frantz, Iñupiaq hunters and whalers born and raised in Utqiaġvik, Alaska. Brower Tiġitquuraq Frantz is a subsistence research coordinator for the Wildlife Department at the North Slope Borough, and a father of five children. And Jack Ikusik Frantz, also a father and step father to seven children, is an avid hunter/gatherer with an associates degree in media arts and currently works as an advisor to the mayor of the North Slope Borough. "AK Natives on the Front Line" is a special series of Coffee & Quaq highlighting the adaptability and resilience of the Iñupiat in the face of climate change, a project funded by the Pulitzer Center Connected Coastlines program, done in partnership with journalist Jenna Kunze. We travelled up to Utqiaġvik earlier this year at the peak of winter when the sun had returned back to the Arctic and interviewed residents about the various aspects of how Iñupiat life has changed, but also how it has remained the same. Throughout this series we explore topics like subsistence whaling practices, research, anthropological work, and more.

Stay tuned for more episodes. Special thanks to Tripp Crouse for assisting in editing this episode.